This month’s topic, “Investing for Impact” focused on the growth and challenges in the impact investing sector of Asia from the investor’s perspective. Impact Chat invited Mr. Oscar Moreno, founder and chairman of Qi Global and Mr. Christian Luetkehaus, managing director and partner of Portelet to speak about how their social philosophies influence their investment philosophies.

The evening discussion was hosted by Robert Kraybill, Managing Director of IIX and welcomed over 30 guests with evening drinks and lively discussion.

The Impact Chat series is made possible from support of Corum, helping IIX and Shujog “Unlock and Conquer” the social issues of today. For more information and to receive an invitation for the next event, please contact Lina Tang at ltang@asiaiix.com.

Earlier this year, IIX Founder Durreen Shahnaz was selected to be a 2010 Ted Fellow, joining a group of “outstanding individuals who have shown unusual accomplishment, exceptional courage and moral imagination.” At TED, the Fellows share their work on the conference stage; these talks are recorded and shared online, free to the world.

In this talk, Durreen details the creation of Impact Investment Exchange – the very first stock exchange for social enterprises – and how her defiant optimism has gotten her to where she is today.

On Tuesday, November 5, IIX Founder and Chairperson Durreen Shahnaz took a break from a busy conference schedule in New York to speak at her alma mater, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She presented the story behind IIX, and how the right combination of defiance and optimism can revolutionize how capital markets can be used for social good.

Durreen Shahnaz, IIX Founder and Chairman, was interviewed by writer Lisa de Bode for “De Tijd,” (The Times), a business and economics daily newspaper in Belgium.

Read the English translation of the Dutch article below – another great example of how IIX is garnering attention across the world through its unique business model.

“The world’s first exchange for social enterprises will open in Singapore” (translated by Magnus Young)

Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), established by the Singaporean
entrepreneur Shahnaz Durreen, is creating the social equivalent of the
ordinary stock exchange. It is the world’s first exchange for social
ventures.

They will be active from September 2011. The exchange will serve as a
trading platform for buying equities and bonds from social enterprise
firms in Singapore, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Both profitable and
companies with a social mission, as well as not-for-profit companies
can go there.IIX will create a liquid and transparent market where social companies can easily access capital in order to increase their impact on their environment. It also intends to grant investors both social and financial “dividends” from the same investment.

The possibilities are enormous. These could include the possibility of investing in bonds of a local homeless business, or to buy shares in a firm that recycles office furniture. From projects in Singapore with mainly an economic perspective, to sustainable solutions to changing society. “We are not a charitable institution,” says Shahnaz.

“Every dollar is paid back.”

The concept appealed particularly to investors who have been entrepreneurs themselves. From their successful career they want give back to the society, but also see their hard-earned money making adequate returns. Bill Gates is the best-known entrepreneur today,with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supporting philanthropic projects. John Rockefeller had similar intentions, and his finances (e.g. the Rockefeller Fund) funded the establishment of the exchange with a one-time donation of $ 495,000.

In Portugal, a similar initiative is underway with the upwards direction of BVS Portugal (SSA Portugal) after Brazil’s social stock exchange model Bovespa. Here it is an online platform where investors can buy shares in social projects in the region at a fixed price of 1 million euro.
“In these cases, they are not real investments because you can not earn financially,” says Shahnaz. The United Kingdom is also planning to establish a ‘real’ social stock exchange that would be trading social stocks and bonds.

In Belgium more and more philanthropic funding is projected in the near future by a growing number of estates. “For now this money is invested for example in cooperative companies for good goals, and we see no need in Bel20 for an NGO in Belgium,” Dirk Dalle says of Jack, a financier and and advisory organization for social projects. “We do see more space in the future for citizens to invest in such projects. Especially in the field of social welfare, we see a growing need. ”

The second official IIX Impact Chat,”Pakistan:Growth After Recovery,” was held at the IIX Singaporean office on October 14, 2010. Featured speakers included Pakistani High Commissioner Fauzia Mazhar Sana and Professor Mahboob Mahmood of the INSEAD School of Business.

IIX Impact Chats are a monthly discussion series focused on advancing and broadening the themes around impacting investing and social enterprise by creating a space where industry and thought leaders can come together to share their latest developments and ideas.

This month’s discussion, sponsored by Corum, focused on the rebuilding of Pakistan and the role social enterprise and innovation has taken in helping empower its people through this crisis.

For more photos, view the entire album on our Facebook page. All photos are property of our photographer, Sir Michael Culme-Seymour. Many thanks to MCS Lifestyle Photography for taking documenting this wonderful event for us (www.mcslifestylephotography.com).

Q: Given your focus on disadvantaged communities, why not start a more direct-service organization? Why do it through a social stock exchange?

DS: There is room for charities in the world, but I am interested in sustainable development, thus the interest in social enterprises – for-profit or not-for-profit companies focused on a social mission with a market orientation. They need to be able to attract investments for which they can give a return, and really show they can be financially viable as well.

Devika Misra of MSN’s 938LIVE’s second interview with IIX founder Durreen Shahnaz, this time for “Passion People,” a podcast series that features inspirational figures from writers, to musicians, to innovative business executives.

She understood the importance of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank long before the world woke up to the power of micro finance. Now she is looking at financial markets once again…to make a meaningful social impact. Durreen Shahnaz is the founder of the Singapore based, Impact Investment Exchange. Its mission is to rid social enterprises of their dependence on philanthropy.

“Singapore has two trading exchanges- one for stocks and shares and another for commodities. But could it soon have a third platform ? One with a difference… An exchange thats not purely financial. One that aims to bring about social betterment.”

On September 5, IIX’s Mona Sinha and Natalie Williams will present the mission and future of the Impact Investment Exchange to the Hong Kong chapter of 85 Broads, a global network that focuses on investing in women’s opportunities. See below for event details.

The 85 Broads Hong Kong Chapter

· presents ·

Sunday Brunch Speaker Series:

Capital Markets for Social Good

Join us on September 5 to learn about Asia’s first social stock exchange during our exclusive Sunday brunch at Spuntini, while meeting new and old friends from 85 Broads. Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) will be a trading platform and an efficient capital-raising mechanism for social enterprises in Asia.

Mona Sinha and Natalie Williams from IIX will be our speakers, and will discuss the mission and latest developments of IIX, their experiences with the organization, and opportunities to be involved.

Impact Investment Exchange (IIX)

IIX is a social enterprise with a social mission: to provide social enterprises in Asia with greater access to capital, allowing them to more rapidly expand the impact of their activities. IIX will focus on social enterprises doing valuable work in fields such as clean technology, social market initiatives, education, health care and microfinance. IIX will connect social enterprises with impact investors seeking to achieve both a social return and an economic return while providing capital to fund innovative social businesses.

Speaker Bios

Mona Sinha is the Director of Strategic Initiatives of IIX. She advises and provides leadership to organizations focused on women, human rights and education, in areas of brand building, strategic planning and fundraising. Mona began her career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, followed by marketing at P&G and Unilever. Most recently, she worked on a project for Goldman Sachs Asia on the development of Asian leadership. She holds a BA from Smith College and an MBA from Columbia University. She currently is an advisor to Smith College and an Advisory Director to Breakthrough, a human rights organization based in the US and India.

Natalie Williams advises IIX on legal and policy issues. Natalie served in the New York State Attorney General’s Office as the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau and Deputy Bureau Chief. From 1995-96, Natalie served as an Associate Counsel to President Clinton in the Office of the White House Counsel. She was a senior litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton where she worked on commercial litigation, products liability, international arbitration and securities fraud matters. Natalie is a graduate of Cornell University and Yale Law School.